Official BYC Poll: Do You Grow Fodder For Your Chickens?

[Artichoke Lover]

I don’t. I try to give my chickens at least an hour of range time. But I’m honestly not interested in trying to grow enough fodder for 16 chickens. I don’t have the space either it’s hard enough keeping my cats from eating my tomato and pepper seedlings in the spring.

 

[K0k0shka]

I want to try it, but my chickens are so incredibly picky with food, especially anything green, that I don’t want to waste a bunch of time and effort only to have them laugh in my face and walk away.

 

[electrycmonk]

I'm in an area where I can grow stuff year round. I have a treats box for them, 3x6' frame made of 2x4s with hardware cloth covering the top . In the summer I will rake whatever seeds left over from planting the garden into the soil under the box. In the fall it is usually cereal Rye seed. Grows all winter here and chickens love it. These plants try to grow through the HC but the birds keep it eaten below this level.
Since I have plenty of birds I am thinking about building another, bigger, to add even more greenery to their diet.

Perhaps you could snap and upload a picture to several on this positive outcome?

 

[electrycmonk]

Even though I voted on the "I'd like to..." Mine is a slight variation...

I've :
X- read the article (several times)
X- got the spare lumber ready
X- got the dish pads from $1 store
X- have two sites picked out
_*_ - need time to build it & buy bag of seed
X- Honey Do List is still in the way
X- making coop ready for hens to get their "Broody on" in Jan/Feb.

 

[HaappyHenhouse]

We used clover seed in all the bare patches of our back yard to help the polinators and it keeps our hens haappy too. I've also used some of the deer plot mixes in the past. They love the turnip greens!

 

[Sally PB]

I've had good luck with small amounts of alfalfa. Chia seeds were a total bust; they turn into goo. Rice was only a tiny bit better. I just ordered some barley to try sprouting; hoping that it grows well and they like it.

 

[BDutch]

Last year I tried to grow corn sprouts from popcorn seeds. For a healthy winter supplement. But it needed much care and took a long time to sprout.

Barley or other regular fodder is not a gain as a winter supplement overhere, bc we mild winters and don’t have much snow over here. There is enough green outside the run all year. And inside the run there is a little green too if the chickens free range a few hours each day.

Sadly they are not allowed to free range this winter. Because of a bird flew I need to keep them locked up. So now most of the greens in the run disappear slowly. I did make a patch with grasses and herbs covered with hwc. And I clip grasses for the chickens and give vegetable and fruit left overs to give them some fresh food.

 

[FluffyBottomBantams]

Yes we do! (Well kind of) we actually started it for the first time just yesterday.

 

[Cturber]

No need here. My flock free ranges and we can grow year round. My yards are all seeded w rye during cooler months.

 

[JCaseyHammond]

It finally rained! I broadcast some barley and bulk chia seed from the store, but nothing sprouted. I’ll be overseeding the Bermuda grass lawn with perennial ryegrass same as last year. There used to be clover in the lawn but the chickens ate that so I’ll reseed with red and white clovers from Tractor Supply. Also oats and wheat. Also a horse pasture seed mix (that does not contain fescue). I’m wondering how deep to sow, like cover it with peat moss? Need to prevent rodents and songbirds from taking the seed.